Osceola vandals work on graffiti clean-up

May 18, 2008|PABLO ROS Tribune Staff Writer

OSCEOLA -- Three juveniles and a 19-year-old spent part of Saturday erasing their own graffiti after a neighbor who saw one of them unloading spray paint Friday night helped police identify the suspects. Police on the scene said none of the suspects would be arrested today, but that a report would be forwarded to the St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office for the possible filing of delinquent or criminal charges. Farrell Holland, who owns one of four businesses vandalized at the corner of Lincoln Way East and Cedar Road, estimated the damage to his business, American Classic's Car Wash, at $20,000. "I've been so pissed all day I haven't thought about it," he said. "I might end up making an insurance claim." The structure that houses Holland's business had been spray-painted in yellow, black and red with what he believed to be the perpetrators' nicknames. Police at the scene said the graffiti was not gang-related. While four of the suspects had been caught, Holland said at least one or two others may have been involved. He said the three juveniles live in the neighborhood. About 5 p.m. Saturday, the four suspects were cleaning the side and back walls of Bravo Cafe. A parent of one of the juveniles, who declined to identify themselves to a reporter, said they and the parents of the other perpetrators would pay for the damage. Elliott Lampos, nephew of the café's owner, said he felt upset as he stood outside the business watching the clean-up work. "This is some form of justice," he said. "Maybe it'll give them some direction on not doing it again." Lampos estimated the damage to Bravo Cafe at $6,000 to $7,000. The other two vandalized businesses are Warren Chiropractic and Casey's General Store, police said. When a reporter asked the suspects why they had done this, one of them became visibly angry and walked away while another seemed to shake his head as though he didn't know the answer. Staff writer Pablo Ros: pros@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6357